Isaac Newton is one of the most well-known personages of the Stuart and Georgian periods due to his towering intellect and his role with the Royal Society. When we think of those amazingly multi-talented Stuart people, Newton is definitely one of them. Toni Mount, the prolific author of The Sebastian Foxley Medieval Murder Mystery series of books, is… Read on
One of the greatest names associated with the Enlightenment of the Seventeenth Century is that of Galileo Galilei, the infamous polymath who ended up getting on the wrong side of the Inquisition. Born on 15 February 1564 not far from Pisa, Galileo was the son of a humble musician however it soon became clear that the young man… Read on
One of my favourite essayists is Francis Bacon (1561–1626), & it irritates me to no end that people think I’m referring to the weird modern artist (1909–1992) when I’m talking about him. The artist is now, and I think lamentably, more popular than the first famous Francis Bacon; and so my aim with this article is to make you… Read on
I’m not being funny. Fleas had a notoriously important impact on life in the 17th-century (hello, Great Plague!) and many deaths stemmed from their parasitic habits. I remember at Paleis Het Loo in The Netherlands, the audio guide stated that fleas and lice were a problem for everyone, regardless of their place in society. I already knew this, but it… Read on
Today’s challenge is: “Learn about something you know nothing about and share five facts”. The first thing that popped into my head was Astrophysics, something I’d heard about during my Physics lectures in high school, but never really got into, mainly because I’m incapable of understanding mathematics. This was a shame, considering most of my science and maths teachers… Read on
“The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge” was founded on this day 28th November, 1660, and was signed into being by Royal Charter under King Charles II. Twelve important men of the day, including Christopher Wren, John Evelyn, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, Sir Robert Moray, and William, Viscount Brouncker, met at Gresham College and formed… Read on
We went to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and it was a wonderful experience. Anyone who loves the Seventeenth Century and science must come here if they can! We were lucky that the weather was good for the outing. It’s quite a trek going up the hill like we did, but great for the old legs! Greenwich is an… Read on